The Breakfast Of Champions (Conclusion)
Overtime proved to be as tense and white-knuckled as the fourth quarter. Halfway through, New London grabbed a defensive rebound and charging toward their basket when Monona’s forward poked away the ball and broke away. In a slick maneuver he managed to split the defense and went up virtually slamming it to give Monona Grove the lead.
Only In Israel: The Donkey And The Car
The incessant loud knocking on the door startled me from my brief reverie. My husband had left to attend a chassanah in Yerushalayim just moments earlier, the kids were comfortably tucked into bed, and I was spending a quiet evening at home tackling sundry neglected tasks. The sudden pounding and muffled voices soon interrupted my plans for the lonely hours that beckoned. I hurried to answer the door while drying my hands on a kitchen towel haphazardly draped over my shoulder.
Should We Really Care What The World Thinks About Us?
While we wish the nations of the world success and prosperity, we realize that this feeling has not always been reciprocated.
Believe It
He was known as one of the most successful and wealthy individuals in the country, and his fame seemed to grow as quickly as his profits. He was the envy of his acquaintances, the bane of his competition. So when the accusations were leveled against him it was an absolute shock. He was accused of murdering a seventeen-year-old girl and the evidence against him was incriminating.
Q & A: L’David Hashem Ori (Part III)
Question: In L’David Hashem Ori – which we recite from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeret – we read the following: “Bikrov alay me’re’im le’echol et besarai – When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh.” Why does the verse use the word “me’re’im”? Why not use “resha’im” or “anashim ra’im” instead?
Tzila Kleinbart
Brooklyn, NY
Daf Yomi
The Letter Of The Law?
‘If He Was…Unable to Enter
Because of the Camels’
(Pesachim 94a)
The Forbidden Esrog
The Mishnah in Sukkah 34b says that an esrog of urla (fruit from the first three years after the tree was planted) and that of terumah temeiah are unfit for use in fulfilling the mitzvah. The Gemara (35a) explains that this is because one of the requirements of the mitzvah is that one must be able to eat the esrog. Since one may not eat urla or terumah temeiah they are unfit for the mitzvah.
Open Parking Lots On Shabbat (Part II)
Question: Is it proper for Orthodox synagogues to have their parking lots open on Shabbat?
Mixed Tzedakah
Mr. Sender was the gabbai of Congregation Tiferes Yisrael. He was in change of aliyahs, would organize the siddurim after davening, and make the announcements. His special joy, though, was walking around the shul on weekdays with the pushka (tzedakah box). "Tzedakah tatzil mimavess," he would quietly declare. "Charity saves from death."
Miracles and Blessings II
When I started a conversation with the young man his responses were rather cynical but I wouldn't give in.
Hashem Will Help
The zaidie sat at the head of the dining room table. I was a small child and unaware that my friend Esther’s grandfather was the revered rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, Rav Moshe Aaron Poleyeff, zt”l.
Shabbos – A Day With Hashem: Sincere Repentance
Every Shabbos we look forward to the delightful seudos where we enjoy delicious food and drinks, sing zemiros, say divrei Torah, and spend wonderful time with our families. This coming Shabbos, Yom Kippur, will be quite different. We will spend most of the day in prayer and repentance, begging Hashem to forgive us for our sins, and we may forget that it is also Shabbos. However, from the fact that we ask for forgiveness “on this day of Shabbos,” we see that there is an integral connection between Shabbos and the atonement of Yom Kippur.
The Connection Between Yom Kippur And Sukkot
This shemirah is represented by the sukkah - a fragile structure made of cheap, flimsy wood, without a door, without a lock, without an alarm system.
Rav Bina’s Yom Kippur Message – 5774 (Video)
The Yom Kippur video message of Rav Bina, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh at the Kotel,
Teshuvah Is Easy; Change Is Difficult
With the entire nation gathered at the foot of Har Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu went up to receive the Torah. When he came down forty days later, the Jewish people were in a very different state from when he had left them. Through the influence of the mixed multitude, they were engaged in a form of idol worship. While it’s true that the vast majority of the people didn’t actively engage in the act, for such a people so soon after hearing, “I am Hashem Your G-d,” directly from our Creator, this was so egregious that it was considered as if they had each participated. The only hope was for Moshe to beseech Hashem for mercy.
Open Parking Lots On Shabbat (Part I)
Question: Is it proper for Orthodox synagogues to have their parking lots open on Shabbat?
Q & A: L’David Hashem Ori (Part II)
Question: In “L’David Hashem Ori” – which we recite from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeret – we read the following: “Bikrov alay me’reim le’echol et besarai – When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh.” Why does the verse use the word “me’reim”? Why not use “resha’im” or “anashim ra’im” instead?
Tzila Kleinbart
Brooklyn, NY
Confused Cell Phone
Yossi and Ezra shared an apartment. They had many things in common, which made them good roommates. One thing they shared that sometimes caused problems, though, was identical cell phones.
Daf Yomi
Hashem’s House Is No Different
‘Everything…But To Leave’
(Pesachim 86b)
The Mitzvah To Eat On Erev Yom Kippur
There is a mitzvah to eat on Erev Yom Kippur. The pasuk says that we should do ennui to our soul on the ninth day of Tishrei. The Gemara, in Yuma 81b, explains that the pasuk cannot be referring to the ninth day because we know from other pesukim that the ennui is on the tenth of the month. Therefore the Gemara explains that the pasuk is teaching us that whoever eats on the ninth day is considered to have fasted on the ninth and tenth days.
Rosh Hashanah Miracles and Blessings
Obviously it is our choice to accept or deny that G-d is leading us on our path. Yet that choice will determine the meaning of our lives.
Flawless
Approximately 30 days before Shavuos, my fondest friend, Joshua, a prominent diamond importer, invited me to his Fifth Avenue office. “Chaim, I want to show you a beautiful stone. Maybe you have a customer, and I am sure you could use the broker’s commission” (usually not more than two percent).
Fast of Gedaliah
On Sunday, Jews will be refraining from food and drink from dawn until sunset to commemorate the Fast of Gedaliah.
Down-To-Earth Deeds Develop Into Diamonds
"An animal also has an instinct to care for its young, but you are doing more than that. You are performing chesed, an act of kindness for another human being. Does it matter that he also happens to be your son?"
Sweeter Than Honey
One of the beautiful customs of Rosh Hashanah is to eat an apple dipped in honey and other sweet foods as a way of asking Hashem to make things sweet for us in the coming year. People also wish each other a healthy and sweet New Year. However the best way to make the year sweet for ourselves and for others is to become “sweet” people, remembering to smile and treat each other in a sweet and friendly way.
Shabbos Shuvah: The Wonder Of Words
Why do we call this Shabbos, Shabbos Shuvah? Is it because it’s the only Shabbos during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva? That can’t be the reason. After all, we don’t call this Shabbos, Shabbos Teshuvah. It’s specifically called Shabbos Shuvah. So you’ll tell me, shuvah, teshuvah—same thing, right? Both mean repentance. But we will see that the difference between teshuvah and shuvah is all the difference in the world.
Moses: the Heroic Model
It was Moses who mediated with God.